Method for adapting an existing concrete products forming machine for forming infused concrete products

ABSTRACT

A method of retrofitting an existing apparatus for forming concrete products, where the apparatus comprises an existing component located upstream of a product mold and adapted to deliver treated concrete to the product mold, adapts the existing component to treat fresh concrete to be delivered to the product mold by a new component with treated water infused with a concentration of carbon dioxide nanobubbles. The step of adapting comprises adding to the existing component a water delivery system that is configured to direct the treated water into the fresh concrete, where the water delivery system is provided with one or more liquid manifolds configured to dispense the treated water into the fresh concrete to form treated concrete.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application and claims the benefit ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/353,992, filed Mar. 14, 2019, whosecontents are incorporated herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to methods of and apparatuses for makingconcrete products, and specifically toward novel methods and systems forretrofitting existing concrete products machines for producing concretehaving gas entrainment using nanobubbles to, among other advantages,reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with making concreteproducts and for sequestering carbon dioxide.

Description of the Prior Art

Concrete products machines (CPM) are designed to form various moldedconcrete products such as blocks and pavers that are then cured and usedin construction projects. Prior art machines for forming concreteproducts within a mold assembly include a product forming sectioncomprising a stationary frame, an upper compression beam and a lowerstripper beam. The mold assembly includes a head assembly that ismounted on the compression beam, and a mold box that is mounted on theframe and receives concrete material from a feed drawer. An example ofsuch a system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,591 which describes animproved concrete products forming machine (CPM) assigned in common tothe assignee of the present application and herein incorporated byreference for all purposes.

Concrete is typically formed from a mixture of Portland cement,aggregates, sand, and water. But the process for making cement is thethird largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S. accordingto the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as it requires often heatinglimestone and other ingredients to 2,640° F. by burning fossil fuels.Making one ton of cement thus results in the emission of roughly one tonof CO₂—and in some cases much more.

One solution proposed for reducing greenhouse gas emission in theformation of concrete is through carbon capture during the production ofconcrete products.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,060 (Murray) describes a method and apparatus forthe manufacture of products of concrete or like construction, in which amixture of calcareous cementitious binder substance, such as cement, anaggregate, a vinyl acetate-dibutyl maleate copolymer, and an amount ofwater sufficient to make a relatively dry mix is compressed into thedesired configuration in a mold, and with the mixture being exposed tocarbon dioxide gas in the mold, prior to the compression taking place,such that the carbon dioxide gas reacts with the ingredients to providea hardened product in an accelerated state of cure having excellentphysical properties.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,679 (Malinowski) describes a method of castingdifferent types of concrete products without the need of using a curingchamber or an autoclave subsequent to mixing. The concrete is casted andexternally and/or internally subjected to a vacuum treatment to have itde-watered and compacted. Then carbon-dioxide gas is supplied to themass while maintaining a sub- or under-pressure in a manner such thatthe gas diffuses into the capillaries formed in the concrete mass, toquickly harden the mass.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,317 (Soroushian et al.) describes a CO2 pre-curingperiod used prior to accelerated (steam or high-pressure steam) curingof cement and concrete products in order to: prepare the products towithstand the high temperature and vapor pressure in the acceleratedcuring environment without microcracking and damage; and incorporate theadvantages of carbonation reactions in terms of dimensional stability,chemical stability, increased strength and hardness, and improvedabrasion resistance into cement and concrete products withoutsubstantially modifying the conventional procedures of acceleratedcuring.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,444 (Ramme et al.) describes a process forsequestering carbon dioxide from the flue gas emitted from a combustionchamber. In the process, a foam including a foaming agent and the fluegas is formed, and the foam is added to a mixture including acementitious material (e.g., fly ash) and water to form a foamedmixture. Thereafter, the foamed mixture is allowed to set, preferably toa controlled low-strength material having a compressive strength of 1200psi or less. The carbon dioxide in the flue gas and waste heat reactswith hydration products in the controlled low-strength material toincrease strength. In this process, the carbon dioxide is sequestered.The CLSM can be crushed or pelletized to form a lightweight aggregatewith properties similar to the naturally occurring mineral, pumice.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,114,367 (Riman et al.) describes a method ofsequestering a greenhouse gas, which comprises: (i) providing a solutioncarrying a first reagent that is capable of reacting with a greenhousegas; (ii) contacting the solution with a greenhouse gas under conditionsthat promote a reaction between the at least first reagent and thegreenhouse gas to produce at least a first reactant; (iii) providing aporous matrix having interstitial spaces and comprising at least asecond reactant; (iv) allowing a solution carrying the at least firstreactant to infiltrate at least a substantial portion of theinterstitial spaces of the porous matrix under conditions that promote areaction between the at least first reactant and the at least secondreactant to provide at least a first product; and (v) allowing the atleast first product to form and fill at least a portion of the interiorspaces of the porous matrix, thereby sequestering a greenhouse gas.

International Publication No. WO/2012/079173 (Niven et al.) describescarbon dioxide sequestration in concrete articles. Concrete articles,including blocks, substantially planar products (such as pavers) andhollow products (such as hollow pipes), are formed in a mold whilecarbon dioxide is injected into the concrete in the mold, throughperforations.

Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 8,845,940 (Niven et al.) describes a process forforming concrete products by treating fresh concrete with carbon dioxidegas to form a treated concrete and then delivering the treated concreteto a product mold adapted to form the concrete products. In the methoddescribed the carbon dioxide gas is directed onto a surface of the freshconcrete or at a stream of the fresh concrete via a manifold withapertures in close proximity to the fresh concrete.

Each of the methods described above are not entirely successful atinjecting the carbon dioxide evenly throughout the concrete mix,however, and this creates the potential for uneven curing or portions ofthe concrete with uneven structural properties. Accordingly, there isneed for an improved system for treating concrete with carbon dioxidethat overcomes these drawbacks in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises methods and apparatuses for putting relativelystable nano-sized CO₂ bubbles into concrete prior to it being shapedinto its final application, be it a sidewalk, road, pipe, block, paveror any other final form. Addition of such CO₂ bubbles has potentialeffects of causing the concrete to cure faster and stronger, improveflowability of the mixture, and help make a more carbon-neutral materialbecause of the absorbed CO₂ within the molded product.

In one aspect, the invention comprises a method for treating concreteprior to use within a mold such as within a concrete products formingmachine. In the inventive method, a nanobubble-infused liquid is mixedinto a dry concrete mix to form an infused wet concrete, where thenanobubble-infused liquid includes a concentration of nanobubbles of agas at least 25% more than a natural concentration of nanobubbles of thegas within a natural state of the liquid. The nanobubble-infused liquidis preferably liquid water infused with a desired concentration ofcarbon-dioxide (CO₂) nanobubbles sized within a certain prescribedrange. The infused wet concrete is then transported to the mold of aconcrete products forming machine to form a molded product.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of retrofitting an existingapparatus for forming concrete products is described, where theapparatus comprises an existing component located upstream of a productmold and adapted to deliver treated concrete to the product mold. Theretrofitting method adapts the existing component to treat freshconcrete to be delivered to the product mold by a new component withtreated water infused with a concentration of carbon dioxidenanobubbles. The step of adapting comprises adding to the existingcomponent a water delivery system that is configured to direct thetreated water into the fresh concrete, where the water delivery systemis provided with one or more liquid manifolds configured to dispense thetreated water into the fresh concrete to form treated concrete.

Yet another aspect of the invention discloses an apparatus fordelivering a wet concrete mix to a product mold. The apparatus comprisesa hopper configured to retain a fresh concrete mix, a source of treatedwater having a concentration of nanobubbles of a gas at least double anatural concentration of nanobubbles of the gas within a natural stateof the water, a water transport coupling the source of treated waterwith the hopper, a valve interposed within the water transport forselectively releasing the treated water into the hopper, and a mixer incommunication with the hopper for mixing the treated water with thefresh concrete mix to yield an infused wet concrete.

The addition of a gas such as carbon dioxide via an infused liquid intothe wet concrete mixture may promote an alternate set of chemicalreactions in the concrete resulting in different reaction products. Inparticular, thermodynamically stable calcium carbonate (limestone)solids may be formed preferentially to calcium hydroxide (portlandite)products. The carbon dioxide may be solvated, hydrated and ionized inwater in the concrete to produce carbonate ions. These ions may combinewith calcium ions from the cement to precipitate calcium carbonate inaddition to amorphous calcium silicates. In this way, carbon dioxide maybe sequestered in the concrete blocks as a solid mineral. Excess gas, ifany, may be vented away from the treated concrete mass. Otherwise, theproduction cycle of a given concrete product may remain generallyunchanged.

The carbonated mineral reaction products may increase the early strengthof the concrete. This may allow accelerated curing to be eliminated, ora reduction in time or temperature, or both. The energy consumption ortotal time, or both, of the concrete product making process may therebybe reduced. If steam curing would otherwise be used, then, depending onhow the energy for steam curing is generated, there may be a furtherreduction in the greenhouse gas emissions associated with making theconcrete products. The carbonated products may also exhibit one or moreof decreased permeability or water absorption, higher durability,improved early strength, reduced efflorescence, and reduced in serviceshrinkage. The number of products that are damaged when they arestripped from the mold, conveyed or otherwise processed prior topackaging may also be reduced.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention that proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a system for producing anddelivering a nanobubble-infused concrete mixture to a product mold asimplemented according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an upstream portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1shown in partial section illustrating the apparatus for producing aninfused wet concrete that can then be delivered to a product mold.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating steps for forming infused wetconcrete according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 for producing and then delivering a wetconcrete mix to a product mold, shown by mold box 12. The mold box 12 istypically configured with a plurality of cavities 14 sized, shaped, andarranged to yield a desired type of molded product such as blocks,pavers, decorative masonry units, tiles, and pipes. A wet concrete mixis delivered to these cavities 14 within the mold box 12 for aconventional molding process.

In the process shown, a feed drawer 16 is moved over the top of mold box12 and empties its (wet concrete) contents into the cavities 14 of themold box 12. The wet concrete is fed into the feed drawer 16 via aconcrete delivery system, such as a feed bucket 18 that moves along aconveyor system 20 from a wet concrete forming stage 22 upstream of theprocess to the feed drawer 16. Wet concrete mix is received into thefeed bucket 18 through a chute 24 formed at the bottom of a concretemixing chamber 26. Mixing chamber 26 receives, in a preferred embodimentof the invention, dry ingredients as through hoppers 28, 30—typically adry cementitious material such as Portland cement, and aggregate and/orsand, respectively. This dry material is combined within mixing chamber26 with a wet slurry fed from slurry chamber 32 via manifold 34, andfurther wetted with a nanobubble-infused water generated and/or storedwithin tank 36 per features of the invention described further. Thenanobubble-infused water within tank 36 is metered to the mixing chamber26 via a valve and/or pump system 38, whereupon the full contents ofchamber 26 are mixed together in the proper concentrations to form thedesired mix of wet concrete. The wet concrete mixture is thencontrollably dropped into feed bucket 18 and delivered downstream onconveyor 20 to feed drawer 16 and thence to mold box 12.

FIG. 2 , in combination with FIG. 1 , best illustrate the system andmethod for generating the nanobubble-infused water (also referred toherein as “nano-water”) and delivering it to the mixing chamber 26 forentrainment within the resulting wet concrete. A nanobubble generator40, here shown with a motor 42 that drives a pump 44, is inserted withina circulation loop 46 formed by pipes or tubes 48, 50 that couple toinlet port 52 and outlet port 54, respectively, within water tank 36. Animpermeable baffle 56 extends in a longitudinal plane within the watertank 36 and is interposed between the inlet and outlet ports 52, 54 inorder to force a longer flow path 58 and turbulent mixing of thenanobubble-infused water 60 throughout the water tank 36. Here, theinfused water 60 is shown with bubbles of a variety of sizes; however ithas been found that bubbles of nanobubble sizes are more stable andremain suspended in the water for a longer period of time as comparedwith larger bubbles, and that these larger bubbles quickly rise to thesurface of the infused water 60 and escape to atmosphere.

Flow path 58, in combination with tubes 48, 50 and nanobubble generator30, form the circulation loop 46 through which the nanobubble-infusedwater 60 travels. Bubble concentration sensor 62 is interposed withinthis loop 46 and measures the nanobubble concentration within the water60, which it then communicates to monitor 64. Monitor 64 is inelectronic communication with a monitoring computer 66, which connectswith the machine controller to monitor the machine cycle and isprogrammed to activate the nanobubble generator 40 as via on/off switch68. Monitoring computer can be programmed to activate generator 40 forso long as the nanobubble density measured by sensor 62 is outside acertain desired range, or alternately control the operation speed andother parameters of generator 40 so as to produce nanobubbles of variousdesired sizes.

Sensor 62 can take a variety of forms in order to detect nanobubbleswithin the water. For instance, bulk phase nanobubbles can be easilydetected by diverse techniques including light scattering, cryoelectronmicroscopy (cryo-EM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) with afreeze-fractured replica method, and a resonant mass measurementtechnique that can simply and convincingly distinguish them from solid(or liquid emulsion) nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) usesthe fluctuations in the scattering of laser light traveling through thesample solution. These fluctuations are due to the Brownian motion ofthe particles with larger bubbles giving greater scattering but slowerfluctuations. Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) is a relatedtechnique (e.g., NanoSight) that uses light scattering to track eachindividual bubble within a small volume (e.g., 100 μm×80 μm×10 μm, 80μL), so ascertaining the exact concentration and the x- and y-movementin a given time. The speed of the particles is determined by their sizewith larger particles moving more slowly. Electrical sensing makes useof a Coulter counter. This is usually used in microbiology for countingcells and virus particles as they flow through a narrow channel betweentwo vessels with each particle causing a change in the electricalresistance between the two vessels. The change in impedance isproportional to the volume of the particle traversing the channel due toits displacement of the liquid. In a similar way, such a device willalso count and size bubbles flowing through the channel. Nanobubblesolutions are characterized by the weighted equivalent hydrodynamicdiameters of the nanobubbles, their concentration and size distribution.Different methodologies may result in different results for the samesolution due to the way they average their data.

Although the motor 42 and pump 44 system is shown for nanobubblegenerator 40, it is understood that various other methods may bepossible to generate nanobubbles within tank 36 of sufficient size anddensity as required for this invention. For instance, nanobubbles canalso be made by electrolysis, by introducing gas into water at a highmechanical shear rate, through a 20-nm membrane filter, through porousglass and ceramics, from fluorocarbon droplets, from clathrate hydratedissociation, by saturation at higher pressures followed by pressuredrop, by saturation at low temperatures followed by a fast temperatureincrease (temperature jump), by high water flow creating cavitation, bya mixed vapor (e.g, nitrogen plus steam) condensation system, by mixingCO₂ gas and water, by decomposition of H₂O₂, by widespread gasintroduction (e.g dissolving fine magnesium powder), by use of a venturitube, by acoustic cavitation, or by a combination of these processes.

A conduit 70 leads from a bottom of water tank 36 and empties into a topportion of the mixing chamber 26. Nanobubble-infused water 60 is thusdrawn from water tank 36 upon activation of pump/valve 38 by controlsystem, which can be part of the monitoring computer 66 or a separatecontrol system. Existing moisture monitoring hardware and computercontrols (resistive probe, microwave moisture, etc.) are employed todetermine the amount of water required in the concrete mixture andappropriately meter any water required to be added. FIG. 2 illustrates aresistive probe 71 sunk within a lower portion of mixing chamber 26 andelectrically coupled to monitoring computer 66 via connector 73. Basedon readings by probe 71 of the moisture content of the treated mix 78,monitoring computer 66 selectively activates switch 68 when the moisturetarget is not yet achieved which then operates valve and/or pump system38 via connector 75 to thereby meters additional nanobubble-infusedwater 60 into the mixing chamber 26 via conduit 70.

FIG. 3 illustrates steps for forming a nanobubble-infused concreteaccording to embodiments of the invention. In general the water is addedin three sequential stages; pre-wet water (block 104), final water(block 110), trim water (block 118). Pre-wet water is used to add thelargest portion of water that gets all of the non-cementitiousingredients wetted. In block 102, aggregate and/or other dry materialsare fed into mixing chamber 26 via hopper 30 in a ratio designated bythe type of concrete desired. The pre-wet sequence is then operated inblock 104 in which monitoring computer 66 operates flow valve/pump 38 tometer a designated gross amount of nanobubble infused water 60 from tank36 into chamber 26, whereupon the mixture is then mixed by paddle 80 sothat nano-water is evenly mixed into the non-cementitious material.Cementitious material is then metered into mixing chamber 26 via hopper28 in block 106 and mixed with the pre-wetted aggregate in block 108 viapaddle 80. A final water sequence is then operated in block 110 in whichadditional water is added after the cement has been introduced to themixer and mixed for a period of time, bringing the total moisture levelup to a prescribed value for the consistency needed for the concreteforming machine. Query block 112 is operated to determine whether thetarget moisture level is reached and, if not, additional water ismetered via monitoring computer 66 as described above. The moisturelevel for query block is measured as via resistive probe 71, which iselectrically coupled to monitoring computer 66 via connector 73. Theinfused mix can then be feed in block 114 into conveyor box 18 throughchute 24 and relayed on demand via conveyor 20 to feed box 16 and thenceto mold 12 as described further above in connection with FIG. 1 . Theremaining infused mixture 78 is retained within the mixing chamber 26awaiting dispensing, but may vary over time from the target moisturelevel due to evaporation or hydration of the cement during mixing. Queryblock 116 determines whether target moisture is maintained. If so, thenthe infused concrete mix may again be dispensed in block 114. If theinfused concrete moisture is off, then a trim water sequence is theninitiated in block 118 to get even closer to the target moisture amountinitially or after a period of time mixing when the moisture level maydecrease due to evaporation or hydration of the cement during mixing.

Slurry chamber 32 is filled with a cement slurry 72 that is pre-wet anappropriate amount using treated water such as nanobubble-infused water60 or regular untreated water. The slurry 72 is drawn out of chamber 32in highly controllable metered amounts through a manifold 34 via auger74 that is driven by motor 76. The pre-wet slurry 72 then falls intomixing chamber 26 in measured amounts to be mixed with the othermaterials from hoppers 28, 30 as illustrated in block 120 in FIG. 3 asan alternate wetting and mixing method from that described above. Addingthe pre-wet slurry is a preferred method for yielding a treated concretemix 78 as it allows the operator to get better control over thewater-to-cement ratio and reduce mixing time. This method is analternative to the conventional system of separately adding all the dryand wet ingredients. The treated concrete mix is mixed together withinmixing chamber and not allowed to set up by action of mixing paddle 80extending across the width of the mixing chamber 26 and driven by motor82.

The slurry 72 would generally be delivered to chamber 32 in a pre-wetcondition and would only need to be periodically mixed to keep theslurry 72 from setting up. However, an alternate method may add asupplemental amount of the nanobubble-infused mist-spray to fine-tunethe target total moisture content of slurry 72. A separate pipe (notshown) would be needed with the slurry to adjust moisture right near theend of mixing. Pipe size from the nano-bubble water tank 36 to themixing chamber 26, e.g. conduit 70, could probably match the one (notshown) to the slurry chamber 32. The cement slurry “box” 32 could thusinclude a small mixer (not shown) as an extension of the dispensingauger 74 coming out the side.

While the system 22 shown in FIG. 2 illustrates the generation ofnanobubble-infused water in situ, e.g. during the molded productsproduction process, it is understood that the nanobubble-infused watercan be produced off-site and delivered to tank 36 whereupon it ismetered as noted above. Delivery of nanobubble-infused water fromoff-site is possible because nanobubbles have been discovered to bemaintained within the liquid and stable over much longer periods of timewhen compared with more typical large bubbles or even microbubbles.Whereas nanobubbles stay suspended within a liquid over weeks, largebubbles (>100μ diameter) rise rapidly (>6 m/sec) and directly to thesurface of the liquid in a matter of seconds where they are thenoutgassed. And while microbubbles (1μ-100μ diameter) provide a highersurface area per unit volume than the commonly seen larger bubbles, theyare not stable for long periods (˜ minutes), but instead rise slowly(10⁻³ to 10 mm/sec) and indirectly to the surface. Smaller bubbles(≈<20μ diameter), however, have been found to shrink over time to formmore effective and stable nanobubbles. Only these tiny bubbles (<1 μmdiameter) are stable for significant periods in suspension, rising atless than 10⁻² μm/sec. This rise, however, is typically counteracted byBrownian motion of greater than 1μ/sec so that the bubbles never reachthe surface and outgas, but instead stay suspended within the liquidwhere they can be entrained within the wet concrete and consequentlywithin the molded concrete products. Furthermore, as the pressureincreases within the smaller nanobubbles, a greater amount of CO₂ can bemaintained within the solution per volume than is possible with larger,less stable bubbles.

The amount of CO₂ naturally dissolved in water at 25° C. is around 1.5grams per liter (or kg) of water. Experiments have shown that wheninfused with nanobubbles of CO₂, the amount of CO₂ dissolved in water innanobubble form is greater than 30 grams per liter—a 20-foldimprovement.

Research has further shown that a high-density of nanobubbles have beencreated in solution, and the heterogeneous mixture lasts for more thantwo weeks. The total volume of gases in these nanobubble solutionsreached about 1% v/v under pressure in 1.9×10¹⁶ 50-nm radius nanobubbles(equivalent to about 600 cm³ when converted to standard temperature andpressure) per liter of water. These bubbles reduced the liquid densityto about 0.9 g/cm³ (e.g. 0.988 g/cm³). Even higher concentrations havebeen reported on a small scale as the result of electrolysis with rapidchanges of the polarity concentrations of nanobubbles (<200 nm) as highas 1.1×10¹⁸ bubbles/liter with supersaturation of 500× being reported.

The preferred concentration of nanobubbles within a nanobubble-infusedwater 60 such as used in the invention is at least 25% more than thatoccurring in water in its natural state, with a further preferred valueof twice the natural state value, an even more preferred value of10-times the natural state value, and most preferably with a sufficientdensity so as to result in the treated water having a density of 0.9g/cm³.

Use of carbon dioxide in the manufacture of concrete products has beendiscovered to improve curing times, provide dimensional stability andchemical stability, increase strength and hardness, and improve abrasionresistance. However, it is projected that delivery of carbon dioxide viananobubbles will have particularly effective benefits.

The delivery of carbon-dioxide to wet concrete via nanobubbles dissolvedwithin water is proposed to have several advantages, includingself-healing of the concrete to reduce or eliminate crack formation, andincreasing the strength of the resulting concrete blocks. Use of ananobubble-infused water can also potentially reduced the friction ofthe wet concrete, thus resulting in increased flowability of theconcrete to make handling easier. Reduced friction would also result inan easier release of the concrete from the product mold. Finally, theuse of water infused with nanobubbles of CO₂ can more efficientlysequester greenhouse gases by reducing the carbon footprint of concreteblock production and enhance the efficient use of cement in the blockformation process.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in apreferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the inventioncan be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from suchprinciples. For instance, while water is the preferred liquid used towet the concrete in the described process, there may be some otherliquid that is similarly suitable for the process. Also, whilecarbon-dioxide is described as the preferred gas with which to form theinfused water via microbubbles, other gases could potentially be usedthat give the moldable concrete material a desired property. Finally,while the described features of the invention are directed primarily tothe use of a nanobubble-infused liquid in the formation of moldedconcrete products, it is understood that the resulting wet concrete canalso be used within processes that utilize pour-in-place or pre-castconcrete purposes. Accordingly, we claim all modifications and variationcoming within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of retrofitting an existing apparatusfor forming concrete products, wherein the apparatus comprises anexisting component located upstream of a product mold and adapted todeliver treated concrete to the product mold, the method comprising:adapting the existing component to treat fresh concrete to be deliveredto the product mold by a new component with treated water infused with aconcentration of carbon dioxide nanobubbles, wherein the step ofadapting comprises adding to the existing component a water deliverysystem that is configured to direct the treated water into the freshconcrete, and wherein the water delivery system is provided with one ormore liquid manifolds configured to dispense the treated water into thefresh concrete to form treated concrete.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the new component comprises a water tank configured to hold thetreated water, where the existing component includes a hopper forholding the fresh concrete, and a mixer configured to evenly mix thetreated water into the fresh concrete to form treated concrete.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, further including the step of transporting thetreated concrete from the mixer to the product mold in a concreteproducts machine (CPM), where the product mold is adapted to form aproduct selected from the group consisting of blocks, pavers, decorativemasonry units, tiles, and pipes.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein thenew component further comprises a nanobubble generator operativelycoupled to supply the water tank with treated water having a desiredconcentration of nanobubbles of carbon dioxide.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the nanobubble generator of the new component furthercomprises a nanobubble generator pump, a source of gas, a detectorwithin the storage tank, and a nanobubble generator loop comprised ofthe pump and tank through which the treated water is flowed to add anadditional concentration of nanobubbles of the gas to the treated water.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the nanobubble generator of the newcomponent further comprises a bubble concentration sensor interposedwithin the nanobubble generator loop.
 7. The method of claim 6, furtherincluding the step of operating the nanobubble generator responsive toan output from the bubble concentration sensor for so long as ananobubble density measured by sensor is outside a certain desiredrange, or at an operation speed and other parameters of the nanobubblegenerator so as to produce nanobubbles of various desired sizes.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the retrofitting further comprises adding tothe existing apparatus one or more sensors and a controller forsynchronizing the delivery of treated water with an action of thecomponent, a step of a product cycle, or any combination thereof.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the controller is in electronic communicationwith a control circuit of the existing apparatus and/or one or moresensors or devices added to the existing apparatus, and wherein thecontroller is further in communication with one or more valves forsupplying the treated water to the fresh concrete.
 10. A method ofretrofitting an existing concrete products machine (CPM) for formingconcrete paver products and the like, wherein the apparatus comprises anexisting component located upstream of a product mold including a feeddrawer that is adapted to deliver treated concrete to the product mold,the method comprising: adapting the existing component to treat freshconcrete to be delivered to the product mold by a new component withtreated water infused with a concentration of a nanobubbles to yield aninfused wet concrete, wherein the step of adapting comprises adding tothe existing component a water delivery system that is configured todirect the treated water into the fresh concrete maintained within amixing chamber having an opening in pre-aligned communication with thefeed drawer.
 11. The method of claim 10, further including the steps ofreceiving the infused wet concrete from the mixing chamber onto aconcrete transport system for movement of the infused wet concrete tothe feed drawer and thence to the product mold.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the transport system includes a feed bucket positioned underthe opening of the mixing chamber and a conveyor system bridging betweenthe feed bucket and feed drawer.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein thestep of adapting includes replacing an untreated water delivery systemof the existing component with the new component using treated water.14. The method of claim 10, wherein the new component further comprisesa nanobubble generator operatively coupled to supply the water deliverysystem with treated water having a desired concentration of nanobubblesof carbon dioxide.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the nanobubblegenerator of the new component further comprises a nanobubble generatorpump, a source of gas, a storage tank, a detector within the storagetank, and a nanobubble generator loop comprised of the pump and tankthrough which the treated water is flowed to add an additionalconcentration of nanobubbles of the gas to the treated water.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the nanobubble generator of the newcomponent further comprises a bubble concentration sensor interposedwithin the nanobubble generator loop.
 17. The method of claim 16,further including the step of operating the nanobubble generatorresponsive to an output from the bubble concentration sensor for so longas a nanobubble density measured by sensor is outside a certain desiredrange, or at an operation speed and other parameters of the nanobubblegenerator so as to produce nanobubbles of various desired sizes.
 18. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the retrofitting further comprises adding tothe existing apparatus one or more sensors and a controller forsynchronizing the delivery of treated water with an action of thecomponent, a step of a product cycle, or any combination thereof. 19.The method of claim 18, wherein the controller is in electroniccommunication with a control circuit of the existing apparatus and/orone or more sensors or devices added to the existing apparatus, andwherein the controller is further in communication with one or morevalves for supplying the treated water to the fresh concrete.
 20. Themethod of claim 10, further including the step of delivering a pre-wetcement slurry to the mixing chamber in combination with the treatedwater and fresh concrete.